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ISTANBUL — Police held their positions around Taksim Square on Wednesday, and protesters remained put as both sides awaited word on talks between the government and demonstrators to end Turkey's biggest anti-government protests in decades.

Protests spread across the country after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered police to clear a peaceful sit-in of Turks who object to plans to raze a popular downtown park for a shopping mall.

Protesters used the park episode to voice anger at what they say is the increasingly authoritarian tone of Erdogan's policies in what has become a test of his administration.

Erdogan met Wednesday with an 11-person delegation that includes students, academics and celebrities over his plan to erase most of the public space in Taksim Square to make way for commercial development.

His decision to exclude Taksim Platform – a civil society group of mostly academics that has opposed the controversial project since last year – to meet with celebrities has raised doubts that his office is serious about opening a dialogue to end violence that erupted Tuesday.

"This is just a PR operation," said Cengiz Aktar, a member of the platform and political scientist.

"They are desperate to find someone who will come out publicly and say their plan is a fantastic idea," Aktar said. "So far, that just hasn't happened."

Among the celebrities invited to the talks were a soap opera star, a pop singer and a musician.

Throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday, riot police firing water cannons and tear gas clashed with pockets of protesters throwing stones and setting off fireworks.

Erdogan denounced the street protests, accusing them of being driven by extremists and foreign interests. He promised a harsh response.

"We will not only terminate these incidents, we will be on these terrorists' back within a legal framework," Erdogan said Tuesday." No one will get away with what they did."

Thousands of protesters remained in the streets, vowing to defend the park, which is occupied by hundreds of tents as demonstrators keep a 24-hour vigil. Most demonstrators wore face masks to protect themselves from tear gas canisters being lobbed by police lines.

Many protesters were peaceful though some more-hard-core elements taunted police and hurled rocks and shot fireworks over barricades. Police retaliated with water cannons and tear gas.

Ozan Ozturgay, 29, of Istanbul complained that a few extremists were using violence that discredits the movement.

"Our first priority is the park, but the other groups make this like a terrorist situation," he said, his head and face covered with a motorcycle helmet and paper mask and sunglasses.

"The police are throwing tear gas at us," he said. "We are not terrorists, we don't have any weapons or anything else."

Yasemin Ersoy, 23, a Turkish American from Santa Clara, Calif., said a major problem is that Turkish mainstream media mostly highlight violence, leaving many uninformed about protesters' chief complaint: that the government does not tolerate dissenting views and is imposing its religiously conservative agenda on the whole of society.

"There's a huge separation between people who know what's going on and who don't know what's going on," she said moments before taking cover from a volley of gas canisters. "They have no idea. They think that people here are rioting and breaking buildings and being here for the hell of it, and they think the police are protecting us!"

Municipal crews worked Wednesday to paint over anti-government slogans, and heavy machinery has removed wooden and metal barricades protesters erected over the past week.

A protester walks near a barricade at Gezi Park on June 12 in Istanbul. Riot police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets as they battled demonstrators who have been occupying Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Thanassis Stavrakis, AP

Police guard the monument of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkey, at Taksim Square. After a night of violent clashes with police, demonstrators were forced from the square but still occupy Gezi Park. Thanassis Stavrakis, AP

A woman cries after being exposed to tear gas during a demonstration on June 5 in Ankara. Thousands of striking workers demonstrated during a mass protest against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan. Adem Altan, AFP/Getty Images

Turkish protesters face riot police on June 1, 2013, during a protest against the demolition of Taksim Gezi Park in Taksim Square in Istanbul. Police began pulling out of the city's iconic Taksim Square, the scene of a second day of violent clashes between protesters and police over a controversial development project. Bulent Kilic, AFP/Getty Images

Turkish protesters clash with riot police at Istanbul's Taksim Square on June 1. Turkish police retreated from the square on Saturday, removing barricades and allowing in thousands of protesters in a move to calm tensions after furious anti-government protests turned the city center into a battlefield. AP

A police officer fires tear gas as they clash with protesters at Istanbul's Taksim Square. A second day of national protests over a violent police raid of an anti-development sit-in has revealed the depths of anger against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom many Turks view as increasingly authoritarian and dismissive of opposing views. AP

Paramilitary police block the entrance of a road leading to the prime minister's office as Turkish youths shout "Tayyip, resign" while clashing with security forces in Ankara, Turkey. Burhan Ozbilici, AP

A protester in Ankara, Turkey, holds a Turkish flag with a portrait of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, as he takes part in a demonstration in support of protests in Istanbul against the Turkish Prime Minister and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Adem Altan, AFP/Getty Images

Turkish youths shout "Tayyip, resign" as they clash with security forces in Ankara, Turkey. A second day of national protests over a violent police raid of an anti-development sit-in in Taksim Square has revealed the depths of anger against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom many Turks view as increasingly authoritarian and dismissive of opposing views. Burhan Ozbilici, AP

Protesters clash with Turkish riot policemen on May 31, 2013, during a protest against the demolition of the Taksim Gezi Park in Istanbul. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Gurcan Ozturk, AFP/Getty Images

A protester holds up a banner with photos of three victims killed during protests and shouts anti-government slogans as Turkish riot police spray water cannon at demonstrators who remained defiant after authorities evicted activists from an Istanbul park, making clear they are taking a hardline against attempts to rekindle protests that have shaken the country, in city's main Kizilay Square in Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, June 16. Burhan Ozbilici, AP

Ibrahim Kalin, chief adviser to the prime minister, appeared on CNN International to make the government's case that protesters had been infiltrated by violent extremists.

"The message is very clear. (Erdogan's) willing to have this dialogue with the peaceful protesters," Kalin told CNN international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. "Some of these people have been disrupting the public order. ... When you say these are all peaceful protesters, we have to make this distinction."

President Abdullah Gul said the government could not stand more of the unrest that has disrupted daily life for nearly two weeks, but authorities will listen to protesters' grievances.

"I am hopeful that we will surmount this through democratic maturity," Gul said. "If they have objections, we need to hear them, enter into a dialogue. It is our duty to lend them an ear."